Kitten of Mine
by SsilverStreak
Summary: Adrien was a lonely child when he wrote to the Storks, asking for a baby sibling. Of course, by that point the Storks were no longer delivering babies, and Adrien soon forgot all about the letter. That has come back to bite him in the rear. Looks like he'll be adding 'Teen Dad' right next to 'Superhero' on his resume.
1. chapter 1

Adrien Agreste was a lonely child.

Seriously, raise your hand if this surprises you at all.

His father was constantly busy, and he rarely saw the man. The few times he did, his father was always rushed and too busy to entertain his only son.

Adrien saw slightly more of his mother, but between his endless stream of tutors and lessons and activities, he counted himself lucky if he got to see her at mealtimes.

The less said about his lone 'friend', Chloe, the better. While it was nice to have someone to talk to, that was if he could get a word in edgewise.

He was homeschooled, despite his constant begging to go to a normal school like Chloe did. However, like clockwork his pleading would be met with 'Maybe next year, dear', a patronizing pat on the head, and then he would be shooed off to his next lesson.

All he wanted was a friend, someone to talk to and play with and spend time with.

This was the first thing that factored into what happened several years later.

The second was that his parents, being incredibly busy most of the time, also didn't have much time for questions. Especially questions that tended to be embarrassing, such as 'Where do babies come from?'

And in the time-honored tradition of parents everywhere who don't want to actually explain where babies really _do_ come from, they copped-out.

"The stork brings babies. When someone wants a baby, they write a letter to the storks, and later, the stork brings a new baby."

Granted, the storks hadn't done that for _years_ now, but Adrien wasn't to know that.

The third thing that factored in was the use of the word 'someone', instead of 'Mommy' or 'Daddy'.

And little Adrien reasoned that _he_ was a 'someone'.

And a little brother or sister would be great to play with.

So, Adrien got out his _best_ stationary (It had cats on it!) and a pencil, and with the Gorilla's help for the hard words, he sat down and _very seriously_ wrote a letter to the storks asking pretty please for them to bring him a baby brother or sister.

And then the Gorilla helped him find an envelope and a stamp and carefully print out the correct address, and held him up to drop the envelope in the mailbox.

As you may have guessed, the Gorilla was beyond caring at this point.

Adrien waited, and waited, and waited, but as time went on and a stork never appeared, he eventually gave up, and even forgot all about the letter he had sent as he grew older and even (finally!) went to school and made friends.

Well, and became a superhero. That too.

And honestly, it never would have been an issue beyond a child's passing fancy, spurred by loneliness, if the Storks hadn't started delivering babies again.

And began by clearing the backlog of letters.

And _that_ is where things went pear-shaped for Adrien.

* * *

The Storkening, as Nino was calling it, had been going on for a week when there was a knock at the front door.

All over the world, babies were being delivered in droves. And while a lot of people were perfectly happy about their new parental status, there were also problems. After all, in the years since they had written their letters, some couples had broken up or divorced, or one had passed away, or they had fallen on hard times to where they just couldn't support a baby.

As a result, social services all over were being overwhelmed as they worked on looking after babies until the Storks could reassign them and find them a new family. Even with a whole wing, no pun intended, of the flock dedicated to the task, the backlog was already being reported to be several months.

And that was the thought that was going through Adrien's mind as his father ordered Nathalie to call social services and arrange for the baby to be picked up.

Adrien blew his nose one final time, his sneezing from the stork's feathers having finally stopped, then spoke up. "Father, we can't just dump her!" He held his hands out beseechingly to the Gorilla, who was carefully cradling the softly babbling baby girl, and shot his bodyguard a tight smile of thanks when she was passed over.

"Adrien, we hardly have the time to be looking after a baby," his father replied curtly, refusing to even glance at the tiny baby girl, her hair a shade or two darker gold than Adrien's own, and her eyes still that soft baby blue, not having to begun to change color yet.

"What of the hit to the company's reputation if the press finds out about you just handing her off first thing?" At that point, Adrien could have kissed Nathalie for her input, and he privately vowed that she was getting _all_ of the flowers on her next birthday.

Gabriel froze, and his expression grew stony, but there was a set to his eyes that indicated he was weighing his options. "Very well. Nathalie, begin conducting interviews for nannies."

Adrien let out a soft breath, then froze as memories of seeing so very little of his parents growing up washed over him. Just an endless stream of nannies and tutors and rare bits of affection that he collected and treasured. And with his mother gone and his father so distant, would his baby sister even get that?

"I'll look after her," Adrien said, having to adjust his hold as the baby squirmed. "I won't let it affect my schooling or activities or anything! I swear, father!"

His father raised an eyebrow, and for once actually looked amused. "You believe that you can adequately care for a baby?"

"I remember growing up with nannies and tutors, and I hated it, Father. I don't want her to go through the same thing," Adrien said, wincing a little as the baby started whimpering and fussing. He was surprised when the Gorilla bent down and silently adjusted his hold, but the whimpering lessened a little.

"Your schedule is already full, and babies take a lot of time and energy," Gabriel rebutted.

"I'll figure something out. I can pay for daycare while I'm in school, and take care of her the rest of the time." Adrien knew his words were growing more pleading and desperate, but he couldn't, span style="font-style: oblique;"wouldn't/span allow the baby girl, his baby sister, to be alone like he had been.

"You don't know _how_ to take care of a baby."

"I can learn, same as everyone else who has to!"

Gabriel sighed and rubbed at the sides of his nose in exasperation. "Very well. However, if your grades drop, we shall have to re-discuss the matter. You may drop one extracurricular, in deference to the time it will take you, but you will still be expected to attend photo-shoots, and to provide adequate childcare during them." He shot his son a firm look, which softened slightly, before turning to his assistant. "Nathalie, arrange a stipend for Adrien, so he can purchase whatever the baby requires."

Adrien knew that his father assumed he would fail within a week, but all he could feel was relief, as he hugged the softly fussing baby to his chest.

Nathalie shot Adrien a sympathetic look as she followed his father, but right now Adrien was more concerned with the baby that was starting to cry in his arms.

What had he just gotten himself into?

* * *

As soon as he got back to his room, Plagg shot out of his shirt pocket and hovered in front of the baby's face, cooing softly. The act was so surprising that both Adrien and the little girl stopped and stared at the tiny Kwami.

"What? I've helped raise a lot of my Chats' kittens in my time," Plagg said defensively. "I'm thousands of years old, kid. I've been around babies before."

The baby was starting to whimper again, and Adrien felt like crying as well, though with relief. At least _someone_ would know what they were doing. "Do you know why she's crying?"

"Could be a lot of reasons. She's in a new place with new people she doesn't know well yet. Or she could be hungry. Or tired, though most babies tend to scream at the top of their lungs if they're tired," Plagg said, darting in to curl up against the baby's neck, purring softly. Surprisingly, the whimpering quieted.

"Okay… oh man I'm going to need so much stuff. Food, bed, clothes, toys… oh god, what about when an Akuma attack comes-" Adrien could feel that he was working himself into a panic, but he also couldn't stop it, at least not until a sharp pain came from one of his fingers.

" _Breathe_ , kid," Plagg said once he spat out the finger he had bitten. "How about we start with a name, then we can work on getting her fed and getting some diapers for her. Have one of the maids hunt to see if any of your old baby clothes and toys are in storage. You can get new things later, but they'll do for now in a pinch."

Adrien added Plagg to the list of 'must shower with gifts when things calmed down', and managed to get his phone out without dropping the baby so he could call Nathalie and ask her to talk to the maids. She assured him that she would send one out to get diapers and formula, and another to look in the mansion's attic for baby things.

"There, that's some of the basics taken care of." Plagg floated up to gently boop the baby on the nose with one tiny paw, making her cross her eyes and giggle. "Later tonight we can go hunt down Ladybug and you two can work something out for Akuma battles. Because this _is_ going to change things, and she'll need a heads up if it's going to be harder for you to get away because you have no one to watch her."

Adrien nodded, going to sit on his bed and laying the baby down on the comforter, watching her kick and giggle as Plagg floated above her head, drawing lazy patterns in the air. "You said earlier about a name?"

"What, do you plan to just call her 'it' the whole time?" Plagg huffed, letting his tail dangle down so the baby could try to grab at it. "I think she looks like a Brie."

"… Plagg, we are not naming the baby after cheese."

"Brie is a perfectly nice name!" Plagg argued, flicking his tail so that she just missed her next grab. "Besides, you aren't suggesting anything!"

Adrien hesitated, then held a finger out, smiling as the baby grabbed it and squeezed, her grip surprisingly strong. "I… well, I always figured that if I ever had a baby, that Sophie sounds like a nice name for a girl."

"… Brie is better." Plagg said flatly, and Adrien rolled his eyes.

"Fine, how about Sophie Brie Agreste?" He asked, somewhat sarcastically.

The kwami grinned and did a little circle in the air. "Sounds good! No take-backs!"

"Wait, no! I am not naming her after a cheese!"

"Too late!" Plagg cackled, then yelped as the newly named Sophie finally snagged his tail and yanked him down before he managed to pull free. "Besides, it has a nice ring to it."

Adrien frowned, then groaned and put his face in his hands as he realized that, somehow, Plagg was right. "Uuuugh. I can't believe I'm letting you make her middle name 'Brie'."

"It's still a cooler name than anything your father would have come up with," Plagg boasted, going back to entertaining Sophie by doing lazy patterns in the air above her. A knock came from the door, and when Adrien answered it, one of the maids placed a whole box of diapers, a container of baby wipes, and a bottle full of formula in his arms.

As soon as the door shut, Plagg zoomed over. "Good timing, especially on the diapers. She needs a clean one."

Adrien paled slightly. "Plagg, I've never changed a diaper!"

"Oh for the love of… it's not hard, kid. They're pretty self-explanatory, but I'll walk ya through it."

Adrien winced, but obligingly brought everything over to his bed and dumped the items onto the comforter. He picked up the bottle and set it on his bedside table, then had to pull out his keys to cut the tape on the box of diapers to get it open, since he didn't want to walk all the way to his desk to get some scissors.

"Alright, first get the fresh diaper and the wipes ready to go." Plagg instructed, distracting Sophie by doing the 'try to grab the Kwami's tail' game again.

"Okay. Diaper and wipes. I can do that." Adrien let out a breath, grabbing the packet of wipes and a diaper from the box.

"Now, undo the tabs on the front and lay down the front of the diaper. Take a wipe and clean her up, then bundle everything up in the diaper, use the tabs to close it, and throw it away."

By now a low-key panic was starting to set in, because Adrien _didn't know what he was doing_ and _he was now responsible for a tiny life_ and _oh gods what if he screwed this up and Sophie grew up hating him_ -

"Hey! Kid!" Adrien jerked, realizing he had been starting to breathe faster. "Panic later. Diaper now. Come on, you can't leave her sitting in a dirty diaper."

"Okay. Right." Adrien let out a long breath, then reached out and undid the tabs holding the diaper together, flipping down the front.

And immediately recoiled with a gag. "Ugh! That's disgusting!"

"Yeah, the first poopy diaper is always one of the worst," Plagg said, completely unsympathetic. "Better get used to them, kid. Grab a wipe and clean her up. And wipe front to back, trust me on this."

Adrien grimaced and tried to hold his breath as he got several wipes, then gingerly started cleaning Sophie up. Only once the baby was clean and the diaper carefully wrapped up and thrown away did he allow himself to breathe deeply again.

"Okay, open up the fresh one, and put the side with the tabs under her. Then just bring up the front and use the tabs to keep it in place."

This was easier, and even though Plagg tested the tabs and made Adrien pull them tighter, he sat up a little straighter once he was done. "I did it, Plagg! I changed a diaper!"

"Yeah, congratulations kid. Now just ten thousand more of those to go before she's potty trained."

Plagg cackled at the horrified look on his Chosen's face at the prospect of so many diapers. "You'll get it down to where it's no big deal fast, don't worry. Now go wash your hands, and see about giving her that bottle. Then you can put her down for a nap until it's time to go talk to Ladybug."

One set of clean hands later, Plagg helped Adrien sit Sophie up on one of his legs while sitting, one hand making sure she wouldn't fall backwards while the other helped the baby support the bottle.

"How old do you think she is?" Adrien asked his kwami curiously.

"From what I remember, babies brought by storks are considered six months old from their delivery date. Makes the paperwork easier for you humans." Plagg smirked, showing his tiny fangs. "That and by then most babies are past the 'spit up everything' stage and can sleep through the night."

"Huh. At least there's that," Adrien said, relieved.

"I said 'most', kid. Each baby is different. You'll have to figure out the particulars about yours as you go." Plagg snickered. "Like the fact that she's got an appetite to match mine."

"What?" Adrien blinked and looked down, only to find that the bottle was already empty and Sophie was pushing it away. "How?! That was full!"

Sophie's only reply was to babble cheerfully and then burp.

"Okay, put her down for a nap, kid."

"... _How?!"_

Plagg stared at his charge, then sighed and rubbed at his face with a paw. "Look, just lay her down on the bed, find a small blanket for her, and make sure it's warm and quiet. She's got a full belly, even if she's wide awake now, it won't take long for her to fall asleep."

Unfortunately, Plagg's prediction was wrong in this case.

As soon as Adrien laid the baby down, she screwed her face up and started to whimper, which devolved into crying, and then wailing at the top of her lungs.

"Oh, no, no baby, don't cry." Adrien scooped Sophie back up, cradling her to his chest and rubbing her back with one hand.

The wailing did not stop.

Plagg had his ears pinned tightly to his head at the noise even as Adrien looked to him for help. "Try walking back and forth with her!" The tiny god had to yell to be heard over the crying baby.

Walking didn't help. Attempts to give her another bottle didn't help. An old stuffed cat (ginger, not black, much to Plagg's disappointment) that one of the maids had found and cleaned up didn't help.

When she hadn't stopped by the time he had to head out to meet Ladybug for patrol, Adrien was considering buying stock in ear plugs.

"Plagg, what do I do with Sophie while I'm gone?" Adrien groaned, back to walking and rubbing the wailing baby's back in an attempt to soothe her.

"Look, we'll take her with us. Maybe the fresh air will help her feel better." Plagg sighed. "It's about the only thing we _haven't_ tried yet."

"Uh, Plagg? I don't think I can travel while carrying a baby in my arms." Adrien hugged Sophie a little closer, already having horrifying thoughts about what would happen if he dropped her from several stories up, and shuddering in response.

"Look, just hold her against your chest while you transform, and I'll take care of the rest. You won't be the first of my kittens to need to take along a kitten of their own while suited up, and you won't be the last. So long as you're not getting into an actual fight and you take things easy so you don't scare her, she'll be fine."

"Um… Okay." Still unsure about this, Adrien held Sophie so her back was to his chest, then called for Plagg to transform him. The baby's crying interrupted when the green magic washed over her, warm and a little ticklish, if only for the fact that it was completely new. As soon as it finished, though, she was back to wailing at the top of her lungs.

Despite the crying, Chat kind of wished he could take a picture of Sophie, as she was now being held in a baby carrier strapped securely to his chest, wearing her own tiny Chat Noir costume. It came complete with a tiny lashing leather tail, tiny ears pinned tight to her head, a little mask, and her dandelion fluff hair now being just as wild as his own.

"You are too cute for your own good." He muttered, shifting a bit from foot to foot to check his balance now that he had Sophie strapped to his chest, then heading for the window he usually left through.

Hopefully she didn't scream at the top of her lungs while he travelled, because he had no desire to wake up half of Paris.

* * *

Once they were out in the cool air, Sophie's crying died down to whimpering and soft sobs, which at least let Chat move more quietly than he had feared he would have to. Still, he had to go more slowly than normal, because he knew his usual leaps and freefalls would have her screaming again.

Which was why he ended up being a good fifteen minutes late to the usual spot he met up with Ladybug for patrol, and why Ladybug was standing there tapping her foot in impatience.

Which quickly turned into more than a little shock and horror when she spotted Chat.

"… Chat. _Minou_. Please tell me that… _that_ … isn't what I think it is."

Chat just groaned as he sat down, rubbing at his forehead. "It's… a long story, My Lady."

"Chat. _Why_ do you have a baby with you?" Ladybug sighed as she sat down, though privately she admitted that the baby _was_ adorable in the tiny Chat Noir costume.

"Well, you know how the Storks have started delivering babies again after a long time of not?"

"Chat, everyone knows that. And I'm guessing that…"

"She." Chat supplied, knowing that between Sophie's age and the tiny suit it was hard to tell.

"She, thank you, is a result of that?"

"Yes," Chat groaned, rubbing at his face. Ladybug had always insisted that they keep their private lives out of their superhero ones, but to explain this properly he was going to have to go into it. "Look, I… my family is well off, but when I was little, my parents… weren't really around. They were always busy, and I saw my tutors and nannies a lot more than them." He looked down, holding out a finger for Sophie to grab, then having to take it away when she immediately tried to stick his claw in her mouth, making her start to softly cry again. "My parents gave me the whole 'stork' talk, and the thing I wanted most was a friend, so… I wrote a letter. But when nothing happened I forgot about it, up until babies started getting delivered again, and she got dropped off at my house."

"Okay, that explains where the baby came from, but why do _you_ have her?"

"… My mom is gone. She just… walked out one day. Filed for divorce. My dad's been… even worse, since she left. And the last thing he needed was the baby showing up." Chat neglected to mention Gabriel's _first_ response. "He just… wanted to leave her to nannies and tutors. Same as I was, only I know that she would probably never even see him at all. And I couldn't let her be as lonely as I was, so… I said I'd take care of her. But now I have no idea what I'm doing or what I'm going to do with her during Akuma fights and-"

Chat stopped as a gentle hand covered his mouth, glancing up into Ladybug's concerned eyes.

"Chat. Calm down. Breathe. Panicking isn't going to help, okay minou?" She said softly.

Chat nodded, closing his eyes and taking several deep breaths.

"Look, she won't stop fussing. See if you can hand her here and I'll see if I can help." Ladybug offered, trying to focus Chat by concentrating on the immediate problem.

"Um…" With a little hunting, he found buckles that could be undone to release the patch holding Sophie to his chest, and did so. With no small amount of envy, he saw how Ladybug gently scooped up the baby girl, cradling her to her shoulder and gently bouncing her while murmuring softly in her throat.

"You've taken care of babies before?" He asked, curious.

"I've babysat a few times, and my parents were some of the first to be visited when the storks started delivering again." At Chat's confused look, Ladybug sighed and went on, gently rubbing the tiny kitten's back as her fussing began to die down. "My mom… is a small woman, but my dad is a big guy. And apparently I was a big baby, especially for my mom's size. We both made it out okay, but I guess something happened when I was born that made it so my mom couldn't have any more kids. So even though the storks weren't delivering anymore, they wrote to them." Ladybug gave a wry grin. "I've got twin baby siblings now, a boy and a girl. My mom and dad are over the moon about it."

"… Must be nice," Chat said, ears and tail drooping, even as Sophie quieted further. Ladybug sighed, shifting the baby to one arm and reaching out with the other to bring Chat in for a hug.

"Look. We'll figure this out, okay? Together."

"You mean it?" Chat had been thoroughly enjoying the hug, but pulled back far enough so he could look Ladybug in the eye.

"Of course I do. You're my partner. We handle problems together." Ladybug shifted slightly, then glanced down. One side of her mouth quirked in a lopsided smile at the sight of the tiny kitten passed out against her shoulder. "Looks like she was crying because she was tired."

"Wait, babies do that?" Chat vaguely remembered Plagg mentioning that, but he hadn't really believed his kwami.

Ladybug sighed and gently nudged at Chat. "You have a lot to learn about babies, minou. Yes, they will absolutely cry because they're tired, and just make themselves more tired."

"… Please don't make that a habit, little kitten," Chat said seriously to the now sleeping baby still cradled against Ladybug's shoulder.

Chat was very much trying not to think about how adorable and _right_ Ladybug looked, cradling his sleeping little kitten. She had made it clear that she wasn't interested in things going in that direction.

Ladybug, for her part, was quiet as she thought. Paris hummed softly in the background, the distant sound of voices here and there, the occasional car, a distant barking dog, all melded together into something soothing and comforting. Soft puffs of breath from the baby's breathing brushed over her neck, and she was warm from where she curled against her shoulder and chest. Chat already looked tired from dealing with a crying baby, but was looking at the two of them as if he were seeing the stars for the first time.

Quietly, she took a deep breath and let it out, closing her eyes. Adrien didn't need her right now. Chat and the little baby tucked against her did. And she wouldn't let her partner, her best friend, deal with this alone.

"Chat?" He had clearly been spacing out, from the short delay before he gave himself a small shake and looked at her properly. "Look, I'm not trying to say that you couldn't do this by yourself. You're an amazing person and partner, and I know you'd be able to be a fantastic parent to this baby on your own. But… you don't _have_ to be, if you don't want to."

"What do you mean?" It should be illegal how adorable he was when he tilted his head in confusion at her, his ears flopping slightly.

"I'll help you with her. Long-term. I mean, if you want me to," Ladybug hastened to add, aware that he might not want her helping in that way.

Chat stared at her in shock, and for a brief moment she worried she had overstepped, then suddenly she was being pulled into a warm hug, if a careful one so as to not wake up the baby.

"Ladybug, I would love nothing more than for you to help me raise this baby."


	2. Chapter 2

Ladybug leaned into the hug, shifting her free arm to wrap it back around Chat and giving him a small squeeze, then gave his shoulder a playful swat. "Alright you goofball, let me up."

Chat blinked as she stood, moving slowly and carefully so as to not wake up the baby sleeping against her shoulder, then couldn't help but crack a grin. "Someone's drooling on you." Sophie's mouth was slack, and a little line of drool was making its way down the material of Ladybug's suit.

His partner shrugged. "I've had worse on me, and I'll make it up to Tikki later with an extra cookie or two, though I'm sure she's also had far worse on the suit." Ladybug took a deep breath, then let it out. "More seriously though, for this to work… I think we're going to have to know who each other is. Because we can't go around passing her back and forth in costume all the time, especially as she gets older."

Chat fought down the swelling hope inside him, remembering Ladybug's insistence on keeping their identities secret. "Are you sure you're okay with this, My Lady? You don't have to help if-" He stopped, crossing his eyes to where Ladybug had laid a few fingers over his mouth.

"Chat, I wouldn't have suggested it in the first place if I wasn't okay with it." Ladybug pointed out. "And honestly, most of my insistence on keeping our identities secret was because my kwami said it was important." She took a deep breath, and for a moment it looked, again, like she was letting go of something. "But some things are more important. Like my partner and best friend who needs help."

He had thought that there was no way he could love his Lady any more than he already did. Honestly, in this case, Chat was happy to be proven wrong.

"However, I don't think that the middle of an exposed roof is the best place to be dropping our transformations. It's you I want to know, not half of Paris." Trying not to wake up the baby, Ladybug carefully adjusted her to pass her back to Chat. Between the two of them, they managed to get the sleeping kitten strapped back into her carrier without waking her. "We'll move slowly."

Chat looked down at where Sophie's head was lolled back against his chest, mouth open and a tiny snore coming from her. "Well, she's definitely sleeping like a rock."

"And if we want that state of affairs to continue, we'll move slowly." Ladybug shot him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, the place I have in mind isn't far."

Chat nodded, grabbing his staff from where it rested across his lower back and extending it. "Lead the way, My Lady."

As the two made their way to the edge of the roof, it was clear that they had forgotten something very important.

Or, some _one_.

Because a few months ago, Alya had been complaining in class that she didn't get nearly enough footage of Ladybug and Chat Noir outside of battles for the Ladyblog. And without discussing it, the two superheroes had quietly changed which rooftop they started and ended their patrols from to one directly across from Alya's window.

The budding reporter had been walking on Cloud Nine for a week afterwards, she was so happy.

However, in all of the baby-fueled excitement, both of them had forgotten this little fact.

Alya, however, was having to cover her mouth to fight down her excited squeals as she flipped through the pictures she had gotten of Ladybug and Chat Noir and _a tiny baby in a Chat Noir suit_.

The video of Ladybug taking the crying baby and comforting her to sleep would go on to become the most popular thing she ever posted on the Ladyblog.

* * *

Chat was as curious as his namesake as he followed Ladybug, noting that they were getting closer and closer to where he went to school. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see," Ladybug said cryptically as she leapt easily to the next roof and waited as Chat extended his staff to the ground three stories below, then used it to swing gently across and land lightly beside her so as to not wake the sleeping baby.

Finally she stopped, and when Chat landed carefully beside her, he recognized that they were on the roof of the Dupain-Cheng bakery. Ladybug leapt softly down to Marinette's balcony, and gestured him down beside her.

"Are you sure we should be here? We might wake up Marinette," He whispered, noticing that there were no lights on in his friend's room, although the trap door leading into it was resting open.

"Trust me, we won't." Ladybug seemed amused as she moved towards the ladder leading down, then paused and pointed at him. "Wait there for a minute, okay? I have to do something first."

"Um. Alright?" For lack of anything better to do, Chat sat down in one of the chairs that Marinette kept on the balcony as Ladybug disappeared into the room. A few seconds later, the lights inside flicked on, and some shuffling sounds and what sounded like rustling paper came from inside the room.

Chat _really_ hoped that Marinette didn't mind Ladybug being in her room. While his classmate often seemed nervous around him for some reason, the few times he had seen her angry had impressed on him the fact that, next to his Lady, Marinette was the one person he never wanted to piss off (Alya was a close third).

He'd probably have a better chance of surviving fighting an Akuma by himself than if he got on the wrong end of Marinette's temper.

Finally, Ladybug's head popped up from the trap door. "Okay, you can come in. Try to keep your boots off the bed."

Chat got up and carefully climbed down after his partner, managing to not wake the baby or end up on Marinette's bed. As he followed Ladybug down from the loft to the main part of the bedroom, he asked "Ladybug, are you sure this is okay?"

"Chaton, I promise, Marinette has no problems with us being here," Ladybug said confidently.

"Did she tell you?" Chat knew that there was at least some connection between his Lady and his classmate, considering the Evillustrator incident, but he wasn't sure how deep that connection ran.

"No." Ladybug looked far too amused, like there was a joke that Chat hadn't gotten yet.

Thankfully for his nerves, Ladybug didn't let him stew for _too_ long. Chat had been looking around (odd, there seemed to be a spot on her wall with a lot of pin holes, did Marinette have something hanging there recently?) when the sound of a dropped transformation whipped his head around, almost before he could even register it.

Marinette smiled at him as the last of the pink sparkles washed Ladybug's suit away from her. "Considering it's _my_ room, I think I'm perfectly able to invite you in here myself, Chaton."

Chat had approximately three seconds to stand there, jaw dropped as everything started clicking in his head, before a small red blur zoomed right up to Marinette's face.

"Marinette! You know you weren't supposed to tell each other who you are!" The tiny ladybug Kwami scolded her Chosen, nearly vibrating in her fury.

"Tikki, that's not your choice to make in the end! It's ours! And I trust Chat!" Marinette hissed back. Personally, Chat had no idea where she found the bravery, because this tiny little red and black kwami was _far_ more terrifying when angry than Plagg ever was.

No wonder Plagg always said that his partner was amazing, but no one he ever wanted to piss off.

Tikki looked just about ready to tear into Marinette again when a soft whimper cut her off. Chat looked down to see that Sophie was squirming, scrunching her face up as the arguing pair woke her up.

"… _What_ ," Tikki said flatly, stubby little arms and legs drooping where she floated in midair.

Marinette sighed, reaching out to cup her kwami gently in her hands. "Tikki, you know that I wouldn't have done this without a very good reason. Well, meet that reason."

The kwami was quiet for a long moment, during which the baby strapped to Chat's chest whimpered again as she yawned, then started to softly fuss. Chat unhooked the harness and turned the baby around to cradle her against his shoulder, unconsciously beginning to purr. The masked little baby fussed a moment longer, then began to quiet down to little sniffles, burying her face against Chat's neck. He grimaced slightly at the slimy feel of her smearing snot onto him, but made no move to pull away.

When he glanced back up to the kwami, he found her staring at him with the biggest, gentlest blue eyes he could remember seeing outside of his Lady and Marinette (he was still working on reconciling the two into one person in his head). "You've gotten yourself into a bit of trouble, haven't you?" She asked softly as the baby began to fall back asleep.

"… Yeah. I just… didn't want her to grow up alone, like I did," He answered just as softly, then tensed up slightly as Tikki approached.

The kwami froze, then gave a tiny giggle. "Don't worry, Chat. I won't hurt your kitten. I'm Creation, after all. Babies _kind_ of fall under that." Still, only once he had relaxed did she continue forward, floating up to gently smooth soft golden bangs off of the baby's forehead. The next look she shot him was just a little mischievous. "What does Plagg think of her?"

"He tried not to show it, but the little grump loved her immediately." Chat had known his kwami long enough to know that if Plagg took that much interest in something that fast, it was either incredibly important or he adored it.

Tikki gave another giggle and a little nod. "I'm not surprised. Plagg has always loved babies, even if he tries to pretend he doesn't. If you really want to tease him, call him Cat Dad."

Chat gave a slight smile. "You can tell him that yourself." Figuring it was as good a time as any, he allowed the transformation to drop.

Somehow it didn't wake Sophie up, which he attributed to Plagg being careful. However, a small squeak drew his attention, only to see Marinette pointing at him with her jaw dropped.

Belatedly, the fact that his classmate seemed to have a hard time talking to him as Adrien came rushing back, and he flinched. "Um… Hi Marinette?" As soon as he said that, he started mentally berating himself. _Of course_ she would be upset to see it was him, she could barely get two words out around him during school as it as.

However, he didn't expect her _actual_ reaction.

"Oh my god I can't believe you're actually a giant dork."

Adrien blinked. "… What?"

"Here I am thinking you're actually cool and I find out you're the biggest dork I've ever met." Marinette rubbed at her temples with both hands.

"Finally, someone else who knows my pain." A tiny black blur shot out from behind Adrien to hover in front of Marinette.

"Plagg, be nice to your Chosens," Tikki scolded, leaving Adrien's shoulder where she had still been stroking Sophie's baby soft hair.

"He'll live, Tikki." Plagg squeaked as he was suddenly tackled out of the air and hugged warmly by his counterpart.

"Missed you, you cheese-smelling grouchy cat."

Plagg rolled his eyes, but returned the hug just as tightly. "Missed you too, you sugary little goody two shoes."

"Wait, you thought I was cool?" Of all the things to latch onto, his brain had somehow picked that one.

" _Was._ " Marinette blinked as Adrien drooped slightly. "Oh for the love of- You're still my best friend, Chaton. … Don't tell Alya I said that."

"Honestly, I don't want to get on her bad side, either," Adrien admitted. "… And you're taking this a lot better than I am."

"Oh, she'll probably scream into her pillow later," Tikki said flippantly, earning an angry squawk from her Chosen. "Once she's out of 'handle the crisis' mode."

"Don't get me started on how much Adrien is probably gonna freak out later," Plagg chipped in. "Did you know he has-"

 _"Marinette does not need to know that can we please get back to handling the baby thing thank you."_

Sophie chose that moment to wake up and whine, of course. Adrien tried to purr for her again, and nearly jumped out of his own skin when he actually managed it. He knew that the Miraculous came with side-effects, but this was one of the weirder ones that had cropped up outside of the suit.

At this point he wasn't going to question it, because apparently it worked wonders for calming down fussy babies. Sophie blinked, yawned, then pushed herself off of his shoulder a little to stare at Adrien in confusion.

"Not going back to sleep again, huh?" He asked cheerfully, lightly tapping her nose as Marinette stepped closer. Sophie turned and stared at the girl, then at Tikki, then finally turned to Plagg and reached out to try and grab at his tail. Plagg floated out of reach, then darted in and rubbed his head against her cheek with a purr of his own.

"So, what's her name?" Marinette tilted her head, clearly confused when Adrien let out a loud groan and rubbed at his forehead.

"I want you to know that I blame Plagg."

"What?"

"Oh my gods you let Plagg name her," Tikki giggled, covering her mouth as she curled up in mid-air in her amusement. "Plagg, how many does this make it?"

"Thirty-three!" Plagg snickered.

It took a second for Adrien to process that. "Wait, you've named thirty-three of your Chosens' kids?"

"Yup! Well, counting this little kitten anyways."

Adrien rolled his eyes and sighed before holding Sophie out to Marinette. "Marinette, meet Sophie Brie Agreste. Sophie, meet Marinette."

"Hey little kitten." Marinette took Sophie, shifting to balance her on one hip with the ease of someone who had… well, more practice than Adrien, anyways. "Looks like we're going to be seeing a lot of each other, huh?"

Sophie gave as serious a pout as a baby could manage, reaching up with both hands to pat gently at Marinette's cheeks. Whatever she found, it apparently satisfied her, as the baby beamed and babbled happily, cuddling into her side.

Adrien tamped down a small spike of jealousy at the fact that Sophie seemed to like Marinette more than him. This wasn't the time for that. "As nice as this is, My Lady…"

Oddly, Marinette flushed, and busied herself looking down at Sophie, combing her fingers through her wispy baby hair. "Right, right. We need to figure out how we're going to do this." She winced. "And if you had basically no time in your schedule already, adding in a baby…"

"Father said that I can drop one of my extracurriculars, but I still have to go to modeling sessions, and I _know_ I'll have to keep my grades up through all of it. That's not even getting into what to do during akuma attacks."

Marinette frowned thoughtfully, the same expression that Ladybug always had when figuring out a difficult problem. Now that he knew, Adrien was kicking himself for not putting two and two together. It felt… stupidly obvious, honestly.

"Do you have someone to babysit her while you're in school?" Adrien shook his head no. "Come by the bakery tomorrow and we can talk to my parents. Honestly? I think if you give them half a chance, they'll offer to watch her during the day. They're already taking care of the twins, and they like you, so…" She shrugged and offered up a wry grin. "And Jiang and Jin would have another playmate."

"Jiang and Jin?"

"It was Maman's turn to pick baby names, especially after Papa got away with a pun in mine. Anyways, that would take care of school hours, and you wouldn't have to worry about her being in a regular daycare. Which activity do you plan to drop?"

Adrien hadn't really thought about it, honestly, although in his defense he had been rather occupied that day. "I don't know."

"Drop fencing." Plagg said, floating up while munching on _something._

"Plagg, where did you get that?"

"I was hungry, so Tikki and I snuck downstairs and she showed me where the leftover cheese bread was. Not as good as camembert, but it'll do in a pinch." The kwami bit off another large chunk and continued talking while chewing. "Anyways, drop fencing. Chinese and piano you can keep an eye on her during your lessons, you're moving around too much during fencing for that. Just have a playpen or something with some toys inside and she'll occupy herself, most likely. Besides, you get more than enough exercise from being Chat Noir, and the way you're swinging your staff around like a sword is downright shameful."

Adrien opened his mouth to protest that his Father would never let him drop the sport that, to his knowledge, was keeping him in shape for modeling, then paused. "… I guess I can phrase it as it being hard to watch her during practice, and promise to stay in shape. It's worth a try, anyways." He sighed, reaching out to take Sophie back. "What should I do during photoshoots?"

"I'll watch her." Marinette offered. "Either you can drop her off beforehand, or I can pick her up." She sighed, looking down at Sophie. "I don't suppose you could get someone to watch her while you go on patrols?"

"Probably not." He shook his head. "We don't run into akuma during them, anyways. It's late, and she should probably be sleeping, but I don't feel comfortable leaving her alone. Should I bring her with me?"

"I don't think you have much of a choice." Marinette shrugged, then glanced up at the small cat floating above their heads. "Are you up to it, Plagg?"

The cat sputtered and huffed. "I'll have you know that she'll be as safe in the suit as she would be in her own crib!" Plagg grumbled and growled under his breath as he shoved the last of the cheese bread into his mouth. "The nerve of these kids, thinking I'd let a kitten be in danger."

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Tikki scolded absently, then turned to Marinette. "I can do the same thing if she's with you when you need to suit up, but Plagg has always found it easier."

"Speaking of…" Marinette let out a long sigh. "I have no idea what we can do about her during akuma attacks. I think we both have enough trouble just getting away so we can transform and respond, but finding someone we trust to watch her while we run off while an akuma is attacking?"

"I don't have any ideas, either," Adrien admitted. He hesitated, then reached out to lightly stroke Sophie's hair. "I… look, if I have to, I'll give up the ring to someone else."

 _"Don't you dare."_

Adrien squeaked, eyes wide and thankful of his excellent bladder control. It was _terrifying_ when Plagg, Marinette, and Tikki all ganged up on him at once like that.

"I am _not_ accepting another partner." Marinette poked firmly at Adrien's chest with one finger. "If you quit, _I_ quit."

"And you're _not_ quitting." Plagg shook his head, muttering under his breath about idiot kittens. "Even if I wanted another Holder, you'd be throwing a whole new Chat Noir up against a now experienced Hawkmoth. You'd be putting them and Marinette in even more danger."

Adrien paled, not having considered that.

"We'll figure something out, Adrien," Tikki said, floating up to gently smooth a stray lock of hair off his forehead. "You and Marinette are clever, and Plagg and I have several thousand years of experience. We'll come up with something."

"In the morning," Plagg added, floating down to hover in front of Sophie. "I think it's about time we get this kitten home and fed and into bed."

"Hopefully the maids have found some of my old baby things by now." Adrien sighed.

"Yeah, especially because the baby stores are all low on supplies besides food and diapers because of all the stork delivered babies." Marinette gave an odd grin. "I've been making clothes for Jiang and Jin." Suddenly she perked up, and Adrien recognized that lit-up expression as the same one she and Nino got when they were suddenly inspired. "Oh! I can make Sophie clothes, too!" Adrien blinked as Sophie was somehow back in his arms and Marinette was diving for her sketchbook.

"Um… try to get some sleep?" Marinette gave a hum as she flipped pages, so he shot an imploring look at Tikki.

"Don't worry, I'll let her get the initial burst out of her system, then make her go to bed." The kwami reassured him, floating over to rub her cheek against Sophie's. "Goodnight, you three, and be safe while heading back."

"Goodnight, Tikki." Adrien carefully stroked one fingertip over her head, then turned to Plagg and called for his transformation.

Sophie was wide awake for the trip home, and contrary to his expectation, loved being up high and travelling by rooftop. She squealed excitedly with every leap, and burbled happily when he broke into a run across a long rooftop. He had to gently shush her as he climbed down to his window and swung in.

While he was gone, someone had brought in an old crib, including a mattress, a change of baby clothes that probably used to belong to him, and a bottle was sitting on a bottle warmer. Silently thanking the maids and making a note to send them a gift, he dropped the transformation and grabbed the bottle.

Sophie drank just as fast as she had that afternoon, and by the end of it was yawning and rubbing at her eyes. Adrien grabbed a diaper, and with Plagg keeping a watchful eye, changed and cleaned her up before snagging the full-body outfit that had been set out.

He was pleased to note that it was pale green, with kitties frolicking on it.

Getting it on a sleepy and wiggly baby was… an experience. Plagg spent a good five minutes snickering at him behind his back before deigning to help. Finally, though, Sophie was ready for bed.

"Just put her in the crib, turn the lights down, and either play some soft music, or read to her, or something. Soothing background noise." Plagg advised as he made for the mini-fridge that Adrien had gotten him for his cheese stash, hidden deep in his expansive closet.

"Music, huh?" Adrien muttered as he settled Sophie in the crib. A distant memory tugged at him, from when he had been very small and sick and his mother had been there. A little song about a ladybug…

Gently, he smoothed his hand over Sophie's baby-soft hair, the words coming unbidden. "Coccinelle, demoiselle, bete a bon dieu…"

Adrien wasn't the best singer, he would admit that, but it seemed to do the trick. Somehow, mercifully, Sophie was fast asleep by the end of the little song, and he was able to breathe a sigh of relief, suddenly feeling more tired than if there _had_ been an akuma attack that day.

"Sleep well, my little kitten," He murmured, waiting for Plagg to re-emerge after his snack before grabbing a change of clothes and heading for the shower.

It had been a long day, but the memory of that tiny golden head nudged up under his chin brought with it a warmth that had nothing to do with hot water.

Although, somehow, he knew that the next day would be even longer.


End file.
